


Ardently

by MythologyPastry



Category: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), How the Grinch Stole Christmas! - Dr. Seuss
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Childhood Sweethearts, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Graduation, Happy Ending, High School, Kissing, Love Confessions, Marriage Proposal, Teen Romance, i put marriage proposal but its kinda not, promise rings more like
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 21:20:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28998903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MythologyPastry/pseuds/MythologyPastry
Summary: AU: The Grinch grew up in Whoville.Graduating was surprisingly something the Grinch had prepared for.
Relationships: Betty Lou Who/Lou Lou Who, The Grinch/Martha May Whovier
Comments: 5
Kudos: 5





	Ardently

**Author's Note:**

> I got this in my head after writing Chapter 15 in my other fic, and it couldn't be helped. I had to write it. It had to be done.

The Grinch hammers the silver carefully; he's spent too much money not to get this just right. Some music plays down the hall, and he can faintly hear the tittering of children outside the workshop's door.

It's the last day of school, but more importantly, it is his last day of school forever. He's made it, so his mothers can stop their pestering about yearbooks and clubs and senior photos. The only thing he'll miss from this forsaken place is his only refuge, the workshop classroom.

Here he's made various gadgets and doodads and anything else that's caught his fancy, really. He did well in art class too, and Mrs. Whoberry had snagged a few of his metal scraps for her sculptures.

But art class isn't as quiet as the workshop, despite the sound of saws and gears. If anything, that noise adds to the pleasure he gets from being in the room. Most of what he says or thinks is swallowed to the nothingness of pure sound.

There's no meaning here besides what he creates with his hands.

The school bell is still louder than the cacophony of his project, and he puts down his tools with a sigh. All that's left is to let it polish in the tumbler, and he feels his stomach churn as he leaves. The Grinch knows he'll be back in time to recover the metal, but it's always the final stages of a project that hit the hardest.

Today's not proper graduation, that's the one in a few days that he'll skip, but the last class party of high school serves as a good time waster until it's time to check back in on the tumbler.

Especially because of its notoriety for being awkward and fun. There's always been this weird tradition for ridiculous proposals. High school sweethearts make fools of themselves, and he can't really wait to see who the first person turned down is.

Not that it's even a real proposal but rather just practice for the next one. It's a promise to make a promise, and nowadays it means less about courting and more about moving in together while someone raises the funds to buy an elaborate engagement ring.

He rolls his eyes at the sight of someone running in the hall, sheets of poster board affixed under their arm. That's no doubt yet another simple soul.

He doesn't get it. Why do anything like that in public? Where you could get humiliated rather than dealing with the heartbreak in the solace of your own home?

Nevertheless, the Grinch settles in a chair once he enters his seventh period classroom, one only a few feet down from where Martha's putting some banana bread on her plate, and he kicks his feet up for the show.

She sits next to him without a word, her legs crossed at her ankles, and after she finishes a bite, she says, "Are we still on for hiking Crumpit?"

He watches Daniel MacWho shuffle closer to Hana Who. "Yeah."

She makes a content noise. "Good."

As everyone settles in and grabs their snacks, Daniel slams onto his knee and stammers out something that the Grinch would best label as nonsense, but Hana understands it just plenty because she yelps out, "Yes!"

The class cheers, and even the Grinch gives it a few claps. As Hana takes the promise ring and secures it to her necklace, Martha fidgets besides him, and he taps his hand lightly on her knee before pulling it back to his lap. She relaxes at that somewhat.

Some of the couples in the class clearly don't know what to do. Perla Whotoh and Eugenie Whoberg stare at each other expectantly, and the Grinch takes that to mean that both of them assumed the other would do the honors. He tsks. What a shame.

Carl Who gets turned down by Rodney de Who, which even the Grinch winces at... Until a shy Felicity Whoden murmurs something in Carl's ear, and the dejected look in his eyes melts into a sea of hope as he takes a small ring from the girl that towers over him.

Rodney meanwhile sits with his friends, a look on his face that parallels something out of a PTSD film. The Grinch can't help but puff out a small laugh at that.

Poor fucker.

Jessie, always one of Martha's biggest admirers, comes up to the two and whispers something in Martha's ear, and he raises an eyebrow as Martha stands. "I don't understand."

"Just trust me," Jessie says, and she looks over at Grinch with an apologetic smile. "I need to steal her for a minute."

"That's okay," he says casually, "I'll just steal her back later."

Martha giggles at that and lets her friend lead her away by the hand.

When the girls disappear into the hallway, he lets his eyes wander on the clock. It's not time to go back to the workshop just yet, but the only person the Grinch actually likes is gone, so he stands and stretches his legs.

He nods at Felicity when he passes by, and she grins at him triumphantly. He always did think it was weird when her and Carl broke up anyway. They went along like onions and glass, just like him and Martha.

The Grinch stops in the middle of the hallway when he sees Jessie and Martha passing the window. They're on the field, a hesitant Lou sandwiched between them.

Ah. They're moral support. He can see Betty further down on the green in her cleats, a hand above her eyes to block out the sun as the trio marches towards her.

Lou drifts a hand to his pocket and pulls out a ring, holding it out in front of him slowly. As Betty realizes what's happening, he sets himself on the ground, Jessie and Martha behind him with a hand each on his shoulders.

Betty rips up the grass as she runs towards them, and the Grinch laughs from his place behind the window.

He shakes his head, letting himself drift back through the halls silently. The hall is full with seniors, the younger kids having been allowed to go home earlier, and he passes by one girl who stands crying by the remains of her shoddily made ring. Most people just buy theirs, some use hand-me-downs, and a few use carved wood. Her ring is more artistic, made of looped plastic, and he stops by her.

"The art class might have stuff to fix it," he rumbles.

The girl, whoever she is, looks at him quietly. "You think?"

He scoffs. "I know. Just ask Mrs. Whoberry."

"Okay." And with that, she scuttles off, and he makes his way into the rotunda. Augustus and Whobris stand by the main exit, and the Grinch feels a flare of irritation as the two of them patently stare.

Ever since Dr. Who asked if he considered the debate team, Augustus has been even more on edge, his words quicker and his insults sharper. The Grinch has never been more excited to get away from someone else before in his life, and he feels a sudden urge to dance as he realizes that this school day will be the last excuse the two of them will ever have to lock eyes once more.

And it's already almost over.

And the Grinch is already almost gone, making his way to the workshop to collect his final work at school, when he hears Whobris make an excited noise.

Then, as if he's just perfectly designed to aggravate the Grinch, Augustus calls out, "Martha!"

This isn't happening. The Grinch turns around in abject horror, his legs heavy, and his jaw stuck tight.

He can make out Martha by one of the pillars, her hands in front of her, and she looks at Augustus with puzzlement. The Grinch's eyes widen as he realizes she's alone. Jessie's nowhere to be seen, not a factor in the equation.

The sound of Augustus' knee hitting the ground, followed by Whobris copying him from behind, hits the Grinch like a hurricane.

BA-bump.

Martha doesn't say anything, frozen in the moment, but the Grinch has already seen enough, so he falters off to the workshop. There's no one there with no machines running once he turns off the tumbler, but it's still so loud.

He runs his fingers through his hair and curses.

The thing looks so small and pathetic in his hands when he takes it out, and there's a severe temptation growing in his gut to just chuck it away.

But instead, he puts it in his pocket and sits in there for what feels like an hour just to gather his wits. Once he thinks he's calm enough to make it home, the Grinch leaves the classroom without a word, letting the door slam behind him.

And he looks up at the sharp sound of a gasp. There stands Martha, her hands tucked in fists by her side and her eyes misty. Her lip wobbles just a tad, and he hates himself for how the sight of it tugs at his heartstrings.

She juts her hands forward, palms to the ceiling, and lets out a ragged exhale. "You left."

The Grinch leans against the wood of the door behind him and regards her for a moment. He plasters on his best, uninterested stare. "Who am I to interrupt a moment?"

Martha looks down at her hands. They're shaking. "You should have known I would say no."

She wouldn't have; it would have torn apart Augustus to hear that. She's far too kind. The Grinch has seen her say yes to a million things before that no one would want to do just to spare someone else the stress. "Did you?"

She pulls her fists to her chest. It's only now that he's realized they're bare. "I did," says Martha softly. "I told him that my heart belongs to someone else."

He flickers his eyes around them, and he hates to do it here, but the ring in his pocket is growing heavy.

So he moves forward just to get on one knee before her, taking her hands in his. He wants to speak, but his tongue feels too big in his mouth.

Martha's eyes are so beautiful when she looks at him like that, and they crinkle with happiness as the Grinch kisses her fingers in apology. He feels clumsy as he pulls the ring out and slips it on her ring finger.

His smile wavers as he quips, "I'm assuming that I'm the someone else, right?"

She fixes an unamused look on her face, but the upward twitch of her lips gives the game away. "Of course you are, Grinch."

He laughs with relief and stands.

Martha's voice is wistful when she asks, "Were you going to do that on the mountain?"

The Grinch lets his lips hover against hers, his eyelids heavy and his heart full. He mumbles, "I didn't think a school could be romantic."

Her breath is hot and wet against him when she lets out a small laugh, and he feels so complete that he can't help but kiss her with the passion of a decade of yearning. And based on the sounds that escape her as he drifts down to mouth at her neck, the Grinch knows that Martha feels the same way.

**Author's Note:**

> *eyes emoji*
> 
> I wrote this to G.U.Y. by Lady Gaga, just for reference.


End file.
